The author of Psalm 104 closes with a prayer and song of praise. What does it mean when he asks that the glory of the Lord would endure forever? What is the glory of the Lord? How does it endure?

Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

Moses says that the river originating in Eden separated from there and turned into four headwaters—the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. Where were they?

Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).

When living creatures gather, are satisfied, are dismayed, die, are created, and are renewed, who is behind it all? The psalmist tells us, and in the episode’s prayer, we ask God to help us apply the answer to that question to our lives.

Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

In Genesis 2:20, Moses switches from talking in a narrative past tense to talking as if he were observing something breathtaking in the present. It’s the first time, but not the last, that the Scriptures describe a river of paradise.

Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724). 

In spite of the fact that creatures “without number” inhabit the “vast and expansive” seas, the psalmist says that “*all* of them are putting their hope in [God] to give their food at the proper time.” If that’s what they do, what about us?

Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

When God planted the Garden of Eden for Adam, he caused all kinds of trees to grow up from the ground, not just so that they would produce food for him, but also so that they would be “pleasing to the sight.” In this episode, we think about the fact that God has made us for beauty and the arts.

Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724). 

In Psalm 104:25, the psalmist reaches Day 5 of creation and the creatures that God created to fill the sea. With its vastness and the innumerable life-forms that fill it, the sea is a tremendous example of God’s power and wisdom.

Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

Genesis 2:7 highlights both the custom-tailored way God created man and the special way God animated man. In this devotion, we take a closer look at God’s animating of dust to create mankind.

Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724). 

Psalm 104:24 serves as a transition verse between Day 4 and Day 5 of creation. It allows us to pause and consider something the scholars of the world generally keep people from thinking about—how the natural world attests to God’s wisdom.

Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

Genesis 2:7 highlights both the custom-tailored way God created man and the special way God animated man. In this devotion, we take a closer look at God’s custom creating.

Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).